Digital Fatigue Leads to a Renaissance of 'Old-Fashioned' Letterpress Printing

In the past few years a new generation of artists, graphic designers and others accustomed to digital life has rediscovered a process barely changed since its invention by Johannes Gutenberg over 500 years ago. Letterpress is "so old it's new," writes David Jury, whose book on the topic is subtitled "The allure of the handmade."

There are two main reasons for the renaissance of old-fashioned printing. One might be called digital fatigue—a yearning for individualized products and hands-on experience. The other is the paradoxical fact that technology has made it easier to print letterpress than ever before.